By the standards of the Republican Guard, who have fiercely resisted the American-led push to Baghdad with pitched battles around the central Iraqi towns of Najaf and Nasiriya, Mohammed appeared to be exceptional.

An objector to the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, he said he retired from the Revolutionary Guard in protest.

"But Saddam forced me to come and fight for him again a few months ago. I was guarding an oil refinery, but went to Basra on foot when the Americans came. I have been waiting to surrender."

Mohammed described his harrowing five-day journey to the safety of British lines after being told by officers to don civilian clothes and head back south to engage in guerrilla warfare with allied troops. Instead he travelled northwards from the city that he described as being "like a nightmare".

"There are militia on the streets who will shoot anyone they think is not for Saddam. They travel at night so I only moved in the early hours of the morning to evade them," he said.

Once outside Basra he took a taxi to the village of Gul Ashab, opposite British lines on the Shatt al-Basra. "I know the British would take care of me but I was scared to come forward until now," he said.

A further search of his belongings revealed a drawing suspected to be of British positions until the sergeant revealed he had drawn a picture of his house in Najaf while in hiding, to which he had added rows of trees in the garden.

"I hope to plant them when I go home to make my wife happy, though at the moment we are having a divorce," he said. "There is much I have to do when this war is over." Cpl Richard Redhead, conducting the search, held up a pair of Bermuda shorts from among Mohammed's belongings. "I don't think you'll be needing these for the time being," said Cpl Redhead, who appeared more bemused than concerned by the prisoner's possessions.

The British Army officer in charge of the prisoner said: "We've got to be very careful. He may look harmless but there are others like him who are going to lead to a lot of British boys being hurt."

One of the soldiers guarding the prisoners, disturbed by the presence of the Republican Guard soldier, said: "If you all think Saddam is bad, why do you keep on fighting?" Mohammed gave no answer.

But as he was being prepared to be taken to the nearest detention centre, he said quietly: "We fight because we are scared not to. Saddam has made us like this."

In Gul Ashab, a village a few miles from Basra and still not secured by British forces, the villagers seemed to be relieved to have got rid of Mohammed and his men.

"There are strangers coming into our town every night," said Hakim, son of the headman.

"We do not know who they are but we think they are militiamen from Basra come to spy on us.

"If the British would come there are many more people who would surrender."

Hakim, who has promised the assistance of his village when the British make the push for Basra, pointed at the red, black and green flags flying from the rooftops of village houses.

"We are Shia here, and the flags are to celebrate our Imam Ali. The red flag means blood, the black death and the green hope," he said.

"At the moment we have many green flags flying but also many red ones."